On Friday, attorneys for the township of Montclair will argue before Judge Stephen Petrillo that town CFO Padmaja Rao, who filed a whistleblower suit against the town in October, is “unethical,” “disloyal to her employer” and is using her position as CFO for personal gain and to “obstruct government affairs,” according to court documents.
The 1:30 p.m. hearing will be open to the public. On Thursday, Petrillo denied a request by the town’s outside counsel, Riker Danzig, that it be closed.
The Rao lawsuit, filed in October against Montclair and its manager Timothy Stafford, alleges hostile treatment and retaliation after Rao tried to bring potentially illegal activities to light. Later, allegations of retaliation by Mayor Sean Spiller were added. Another lawsuit by a former female employee followed, along with sworn statements by two other women with similar allegations.
At the hearing, Riker attorney Derrick Freijomil will argue that Rao violated her ethical obligations and her duties as an town employee by revealing confidential information in her complaint, according to court documents.
In his brief, Freijomil said Rao used information obtained as CFO for her “undue, personal advantage, including economic gain... and did it to vex, harass and disadvantage the Township.”
Rao’s attorney, Nancy Erika Smith, a nationally known employment discrimination lawyer, said that the Riker Danzig brief amounts to “defamation” and “character assassination.”
“Plaintiffs...
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